(quite) long trip this weekend - any advice/guidance?

[Pat]

Traveling a total of 280 miles (140 each way) on Saturday.

Trophy here.

I am very nervous about being able to do this on one charge (in fact I'm not going to try it - even assuming 100% state of charge to start!)

I can get to my destination and about 1/2 way back in 200 miles where there is conveniently located (in Hereford) a bp Pulse charging station that has
4 x 50kW CCS - hopefully, one of these will be free - put in about 50 miles and get home easily. (79p per kW - blergg!)
4 x 43kW Type2 - this is my 'real' concern - what are these? Are they tethered (Did a bit more digging - seems all chargers over 22kW are tethered)? Am I going to get 43kW on my car? Or is there some other limit I don't know about?
4 x 7kW Type2 - Blergg as this is going to take ages to put 50 miles in and really upset passengers.

In any case - thoughts?

 

[PeteC]

Bedale?

No, we stop at Wetherby Services and then at the Tesla chargers at Adderstone.

 

[dave99]

2) No -not rapid charged ever. So no, don't have many apps at all to support this (was kind of hoping we'd gone beyond this tbh). The money really isn't the problem - okay it's 10x the cost of at home but I only do journeys like this maybe half a dozen times a year so I don't care - just 'Blerg'

I'm sure we'll get away from app/rfid only chargers eventually, although there might still be better offers with an app for 'loyalty' - there are lots of contactless chargers now and ZapMap will tell you if contactless is supported.

I'd not done much public charging either until last week - you just need to do that first charge then you'll be fine.

I'd say its definitely worth getting the Tesla app set up so you are ready to charge there, they are app only at the moment I believe. There are quite a lot of their chargers now available to everybody and they are easy/fast/cheap if you're near one, the app will show you which ones are open to all and will be my first check now.

 

[MGCamb]

No, we stop at Wetherby Services and then at the Tesla chargers at Adderstone.

Used to drive cars about and tied to BP. In the vicinity 150ish miles up the road from Cambs are 2 villages with 50 chargers. Bedale which is 2 or 3 miles off the A1 and has a nice coffee shop 30 yards further into town along with other country shops. Boroughbridge about 2 miles from the road and has a nice bakers as well as above. Makes a change and probably adds 10 min to your journey but a nicer break.
Intend trying the Tesla next time as I was usually heading for M74.

 

[Rolfe]

Have a good trip @Rolfe and enjoy Sussex!

Thanks. Currently sitting in the Costa Coffee at Cherwell Valley service station deciding I'm in love with Gridserve. They just WORK.

The Instavolt at Greenlands Farm Shop was a bit reluctant to recognise my debit card but we got there in the end. The fastest charge I saw was 60 Kw but the service in the restaurant was so slow that a 45 minute stop turned into an hour and a quarter by which time I was at 99%!

There was a bit of a queue at the Ionity chargers at Stafford but I just waited. These chargers have to be started with a phone and it wasn't straightforward at all but in the end the car started charging.

Here, it looked as if the high power Gridserves were occupied but I got a medium power one which was probably just about as good given that I was driving an SR with 35% starting charge. I saw 60 Kw anyway. Just waiting to get to 90% for the final 120-mile stretch, and then see if I need more when I get there - the opera house is only 17 miles away from where I'm staying but the output of their destination chargers isn't guaranteed and I'd like to balance the battery there if I can.

Haven't needed a plan B yet, so far so good.

 

[Martinonline]

I stopped at Cherwell Valley regularly before I moved North. It's good to know that the chargers are good as I might need them in the future. Gridserve were excellent at Norwich but the receipt I obtained from the charger had the wrong date (a June date/time instead of the correct July date/time) and not the amount I was charged on my credit card statement. I am in discussions with customer services.

 

[Pat]

Did some more testing/reading. Tried a 50kW GeniePoint provided by Council - all 3 'Faulted' .. sigh.

Tried a PodPoint at Lidl- 50kW - really easy to set up an account in App - within 5 minutes got 48kW charge rate.

Also found the Tesla App and 'Charge my Non-Tesla Car' option and found a bank of 12 250Kw chargers on my way out of Cardiff. (Was reading their conditions about 'idle time' - such a good idea). If the car does 135kW (I know, bear with me just 'guestimating') then it's going to fill a 0%-100% charge in half an hour (yes, I know about above 80%) thing is car shouldn't be anywhere near 20% and I don't need to go over 80% to get home.

Got my new Plan A - Tesla
Plan B - Hereford
Plan C - Divorce

 

[dsimpkins]

My first public charge was at a Lidl Podpoint. It was a bit fiddly initially, but was chuffed that I'd had a successful charge while shopping.

 

[Rolfe]

I tried a BP Pulse near the sea front at Hove but it was broken. But hey, Caliban the Scottish car has seen the English Channel. Moved to a Blink charger not far away and after waiting a few minutes for the previous car to finish I was on with my debit card in seconds. Very different from my previous experiences with Blink. Top marks.

I charged to 50% so that when I put the car on the destination charger at the theatre I'd hopefully get to 100% and balance. When I first plugged in there (PodPoint) the estimate said this would work. But a little later a Leaf came and plugged into the other connector on my charger and I thought damn, my charging rate will fall and I won't get that balance charge. Not a bit of it. Caliban went right on charging at about 5.75 Kw as if the Leaf was a mirage and we got the balance charge. Also no funny stuff with the Podpoint charger. I had to start it on my phone in an app in bright sunshine but I had set the account up in advance and I just had to duck into the passenger seat to get some shade and it was quite easy.

 

[ukslim]

I think you'll only get 7kW from a "43kW Type 2" in a Trophy. The LR batteries' AC charging does 7kW max (and the SR only does 11).

So you do want CCS charging if it's meant to be a mid-journey charging stop.

Have a go at ABRP and its app. It'll use real-world ranges and charging speeds, to give you a route with charging stops. It also allows you to find food stops with chargers nearby, at the time of your choice.

Either ask it for a route with three waypoints - home, destination, home.
Or ask it for a route to your destination, see what charge it says you'll have on arrival, then ask for a route home starting with that charge.

If your total journey is 300 miles, you'll only need a small top-up to get home, so avoid getting more than you need if you charge at 70p+.

Ideally, though, if you're spending a few hours at your destination, you'd find a 7kW charger where you can leave it charging cheaply as you do whatever you went there for. Not always possible, but if you can, do.

I'll be disappointed if we don't fairly soon get to the point where you expect to find a charger you can use in this manner, almost everywhere you visit, but we're not there yet.

 

[ukslim]

Oh one other thing, is not to let it be a stress. If you need a 100+kW charger to make this a stress-free journey, just go to a 100+kW charger. One of these will give you more than you need in 10 minutes. Combine it with a loo/coffee break.

 

[dave99]

If the car does 135kW (I know, bear with me just 'guestimating') then it's going to fill a 0%-100% charge in half an hour (yes, I know about above 80%) thing is car shouldn't be anywhere near 20% and I don't need to go over 80% to get home.

theoretically maybe, but the charge rate will drop quickly after 80ish % so it would actually take longer to fill to 100%. If 80 is ok for you though then it will be very quick, the slowdown after that might actually be handy to give you time to finish your cuppa

 

[Yandards]

My Trophy managed about 10% battery to 20 miles on the motorway at 70moh with 3 people and a full boot.

Had a faff with some handshakes on the rapid chargers where I needed to push the start button in the car on the home screen whilst the charge was being initialised to get it to go.

Total round trip with 1100 miles (up to North of Scotland and back) and there was a noticeable drop off in range on the return leg due to wet roads and a head wind.

I'd avoid any motorway services charge from 1100-1400 if possible, they are likely to be rammed.

You need a 3 phase AC cable to take the 11kw - the MG supplied item is only single phase so will limit AC charging.

I use ABRP (a better route planner) for route planning, you can tweak lots of variables like departure/arrival SoC, minimum delivery rates for chargers, add some weight to the car, speeds etc. If you pay for premium it'll tweak range for live weather and let you use it on Android auto/ apple carplay.

Found a good charging station at Crow Orchard near Wigan, just off the motorway, 24 hours and 6 bays of 120kwh chargers. As its just a petrol station people tend to stay with their cars and leave as soon as charged.

Biggest faff for me with the charging network, aside from the 16 charge apps I have on my phone (and you still need RFID cards for some chargers) is the layout and design of charging areas. They need to be away from the main building of a service area, single bays and with no incentive for people to wander off for too long.

 

[tsedge]

I think you'll only get 7kW from a "43kW Type 2" in a Trophy. The LR batteries' AC charging does 7kW max (and the SR only does 11).

Correction:
SR only does 7kW on AC.
LR Phase 1 does 11kW on AC, Phase 2 cars only 7kW.

 

[Rolfe]

I'm currently sitting at Cherwell Valley on the M40. Arrived with 25% charge and could have gone on a bit but I was starving thanks to the M25 being negotiated at little more than walking pace. Tried the TJA for the first time.

The car quickly ran up to 85 Kw and by the time I'd been to the loo and bought a snack for lunch it was on 55%. Lunch eaten it's now on 73% so I might as well go and unplug and head off. Still charging at 40Kw.

 

[Grriff]

I'm currently sitting at Cherwell Valley on the M40.

Rolfe, we'll probably use Cherwell Valley on our London trips. Any special advice?
Thanks
David

 

[Rolfe]

Rolfe, we'll probably use Cherwell Valley on our London trips. Any special advice?
Thanks
David

There are a couple of Gridserves each with two connectors, labelled medium power. But just past these is a row of maybe six more, single chargers, labelled high power. Get a high power one if you can but the medium power is not useless. (I saw an orange Trophy at a high power one when I was leaving.)

It's Gridserve. What can I say. They just WORK. No hassle, debit card. In two minutes.

Currently nostalgic for them, after a battle to get on an Ionity charger that ended with a long phone call and the operator starting the charge by hand. Set me back at least half an hour, which I didn't need after the jams on the M25, roadworks on the M42 and missing the slip road for the M6 Toll road.

Heading for more Gridserves next, thank God, at Burton in Kendal. I hate Ionity with a fiery passion.

 

[SueH]

No, we stop at Wetherby Services and then at the Tesla chargers at Adderstone.

Don't forget the new Chargers at Leeming Bar and at the Jet garage next to Lidl at Catterick.

Had my first long trip from Hampshire to Sheffield and then the Dales two weeks ago and had no issues as there are alternatives now. On my way home misrouted and couldn't stop where I had in mind but a quick look at Zapmap and a two car instavolt just off the M1 worked fine. The fastest charging I saw in my SE during the trip was just over 80kWh.

Heading for more Gridserves next, thank God, at Burton in Kendal. I hate Ionity with a fiery passion.

Most people used to have the opposite opinion! For many years Griderve only had single chargers at MSAs, often out of order.

I think you'll find unanimity of opinion on Geniepoint however!

 

[Pat]

All back - everything went super-easy (apart from the result in the rugby!)

Started 100% - Wrexham to Cardiff 140 miles - parked at 42% (As an aside Cardiff Council County Hall Park and Ride is superb for days like this - £12 per car for the day with constant buses back and to - could not fault it.)

Came back from the game and drove to Tesla Supercharger that (with traffic) was 15 minutes and 8 or 9 miles away.

8 bays - only one occupied. Result.

Plugged in the car, started charging on the car and app (not quite sure I had to do both!) and 139kWh was being sent into the car virtually instantly. I was (almost but not quite) watching the % tick up in front of me. Got to 70% and it started slowing down quite noticeably - I stopped at 76% when it had dropped to 65kWh-ish. (I know I should have stayed to 80% but heck, I knew it'd be alright and the missus was getting a bit antsy )

The only missed heartbeat was after I'd stopped the charge - it took 1/2 a second to realise that although the car had released the cable, the cable didn't want to release and I had to press a button on the charging lead socket to release it.

Ended up back in Wrexham with 16% charge and 35 miles on GOM. No pressures, no range anxiety - 'the system' worked as it should.

Upshot is: (I'm not counting the cost of the up to 100% on the drive - that's all Octopus Go stuff - cheap as chips)

The charge at Tesla:
15 minutes 18 seconds
Delivered 24kWh
Cost me £13.92

4 adults from Wrexham to Cardiff and back in a car for £13.92 (+ Octopus Go).

The day was smooth, easy, and relaxed (tiring, it's (quite) a long way).

Thanks for all your advice guys.

Pat

 

[Rolfe]

Another happy experience with Gridserve at Burton. Six 350 Kw chargers, only a couple occupied. Charged to 95% because that was what I needed to get home, got home on 9%.

Even though I made a mistake and accidentally stopped the charge as it was starting, Gridserve was tolerant and got going again. Nice friendly chargers, with a big sign saying "Need a receipt?" and "Need someone to talk to?" Everything was legible and clear.

Ionity was like a deliberate intelligence test to be carried out by reading unclear LED screens in over-bright sunshine, and it wouldn't take payment through the app by debit card, or using the Shell Recharge card, or the Shell Recharge app, and the web page from the QR code wouldn't load.